Inaugural Homily of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV
Dear Brother Cardinals,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Distinguished Authorities and Members of the Diplomatic Corps.
Greetings to the pilgrims who have come for the Jubilee of Confraternities!
I greet all of you with a heart full of gratitude at the beginning of the ministry that has been entrusted to me. Saint Augustine wrote: Lord, “you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessions, I: 1,1).
In these days, we have experienced intense emotions. The death of Pope Francis filled our hearts with sadness. In those difficult hours, we felt like the crowds that the Gospel says were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). Then, on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing and, in the light of the resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people, but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them “as a shepherd guards his flock” (Jer 31:10).
… With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.
Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.
His Holiness Leo XIV
Read the rest of Pope Leo's homily here.
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Mass Times
Mass will be available online via YouTube from about 15 minutes before Mass starts (see below). Just click on the YouTube icon to connect.
Masses
| Mass | Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 9:30am | No |
| 11:15am | YouTube | |
| Monday | 9:30am | YouTube |
| Tuesday | 9:30am | YouTube |
| Wednesday | 9:30am | YouTube |
| Thursday | 9:30am | No |
| Friday | 10am | YouTube |
| Saturday | 6:15pm | No |
Check the bulletin for Mass times at the other churches in our Holy Family Parish.
W.O.R.K.
Widows and Orphans in Rural Kenya is a registered “Not-for-Profit” charity (Reg. No. 1119959).
W.O.R.K. is dedicated to helping people to become self-sufficient by supporting education, training and healthcare for widows and orphans.
Mary-Jane Butler, founder of W.O.R.K. gave an update to the parish over the weekend of 25th and 26th January 2025. You can read what she had to say and see the pictures here.
Please donate online here if you can:
SVP Appeal
We are in need of adult and children bicycles for the asylum seekers. If you upgraded any bikes over Christmas, please consider donating your old bike to us. For more information, please contact the Parish Office. We are still collecting clothes, toys and toiletries. Please check the SVP noticeboard for meeting dates and other updates.
We are also always looking for hosts for homeless refugees. If you would like to talk about what might be involved in hosting please contact us on 07749 917134.
SVP Needs You
St Vincent de Paul (SVP) Maidenhead Treasurer and Secretary voluntary roles. SVP Maidenhead is looking to fill two important voluntary roles as soon as possible. Both the Treasurer and Secretary roles make a real difference in enabling SVP to run smoothly, including our monthly meetings on the first Monday of every month. Neither role is particularly demanding in terms of time commitment and a full handover from the current post holders will be arranged. Furthermore, individuals who may be interested are not required to become full members of SVP - associate membership can be arranged if preferred. If any parishioners are interested in either role, please contact Hilda on 07749 917134 or Peter on 07976 625813. Please also feel free to pass on this request to anyone you feel may be interested. The members of SVP Maidenhead would greatly appreciate any support in helping to fill these important role.
FOODSHARE
We are a collection point for Foodshare. Our collection area is just inside the porch doors, but if you leave food outside, out of hours (in a bag or other covering) the building is regularly checked. Foodshare are currently really in need of tinned vegetables and tinned meat, amongst all the regular donations.
We are currently helping over 120 families a week through food parcels and the Foodshare shop. We are running our "Holiday Hunger" program during the summer holidays. We provide breakfast food to schools and free lunches twice a week. There is more information on our website foodshare.charity. We are currently in need of financial donations. Donations can be made via the Foodshare website.
Welcome
Everyone at St Edmund Campion Parish in Maidenhead welcomes you to our Catholic community. Hopefully you will find all the information you are looking for - if not, please contact us and we will answer any questions you may have.
If you would like to know more about us and what we do, take a look at our Welcome Brochure. We look forward to meeting you soon.
The address of the Church and office is: 40a Altwood Road, Maidenhead. Berks. SL6 4PY. Details of how to find us are here.
Pastoral Area Update March 2025
Fr Liam has written another letter providing an update on the progress of the new Pastoral Area:
Dear Friend and Parishioner,
I’m very conscious that it has been 3 months since my last update, when we were in Advent – and here we are now in the season of Lent. So I’m overdue in updating you on what’s been going on in our new expanded Parish formation, as part of the 10-year mission plan: 'You will be my Witnesses'.
So, what have we done since December?
- At time of writing, we have just held our Parish Seder meal, for over 90 people. This is our first big Parish event – and I’m thrilled at the response. Feedback has been really favourable, especially the Seder rites that helped explain our eucharist in more detail. Thank you to everyone involved in organising this and selling tickets.
…
Read all about what have we been doing since December in the latest letter here (March 2025).
You can read the previous letter here (December 2024) and the earlier letters are here (October 2024), here (May 2024), here (February 2024), and here (November 2023).
Take a look at Parish plan presented to the Bishop here (August 2024).
Parish Priest
I am Liam Cummins and I come from Ireland. I'm the eldest of four children (three boys and one girl).
As a Mill Hill Missionary (millhillmissionaries.com), I have spent a good period of my adult life ministering in Africa, namely Cameroon and Kenya.
I was appointed to England to do Mission Animation (Missio and Mill Hill) for a number of Dioceses in 2012. I really enjoyed this work and it involved a good amount of travelling and meeting lots of people. Read more.
Parish Register
If you want to be added to the Parish Register, please see the priest.
Download, print and complete the Parish Registration Form.
If your details change, or you have an addition to the family, please contact the Parish Secretary to make sure that your entry is up to date and includes all your children.
Edmund Campion
"I have no more to say but to recommend your case and mine to Almighty God, the Searcher of Hearts, who sends us His grace, and sets us at accord before the day of payment, to the end we may at last be friends in heaven, when all injuries shall be forgotten." Read more.
Habemus Papem
We have a new pope. With hearts full of joy and gratitude, we celebrate the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.
In his first words as pontiff, he greeted the world with a simple but powerful message: "We have to look together how [sic] to be a missionary Church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all." We receive this moment with hope and expectation. As Pope Leo XIV begins his papacy, we entrust his leadership to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and look forward to how the Lord will work through him in the mission of the Church.
As we mark this historic moment — welcoming the first American pope in the history of the Church — we invite you to join us in prayer:
Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd, Guide Pope Leo XIV with wisdom, courage, and love. May the Holy Spirit strengthen him as he leads your Church in mission. Through his ministry, may the joy of the Gospel reach every human heart. Amen.
Pastoral Letter from Bishop Philip
The latest letter (April 2025 - Divine Mercy Sunday) is available to read here .
May Pope Francis Rest in Peace
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is with enormous sadness that we bid farewell to Pope Francis, commending his soul to the mercy of the Lord. The Holy Father passed away on the morning of Easter Monday 21st April 2025, after a battle with pneumonia and other problems. May he rest in the peace of the Risen Lord.
The Holy Father, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, came from Buenos Aires. The eldest of five children, he was born to an Italian immigrant father and an Argentinian mother on 17th December 1936. In his early years, he worked in a bar, as a janitor and as a chemical technician, but at the age of twenty, decided to become a priest. He entered the seminary but left a year later to join the Society of Jesus. His Jesuit formation extended across a period of great change in the Church during Vatican II and he was ordained to the priesthood in December 1967. …
All the Pastoral Letters from Bishop Philip are available on the Portsmouth Diocese website.
Closer to Christ Campaign
The Closer to Christ Campaign is a two-year initiative that will be delivered across the whole Diocese, with the am of raising £13.5million. Our vision for the Diocese is ‘bringing people close to Jesus Christ through his church’ and this project will help us realise our vision. This important endeavour has two key aims...
Going Into Hospital?
Upon admission, please state clearly that you are a Catholic Christian. If you want the Chaplain to visit you, you either need to complete the form in the Chapel, or speak to the Ward Sister in Charge.
The local Roman Catholic Church near Wexham Park Hospital is the Church of the Holy Redeemer, contact 01753 578328. In cases of emergency, call St Joseph’s Maidenhead on 01628 783988.